“Strong democratic institutions are needed at all levels to regulate corporations, protect public and human rights, eliminate poverty, and manage markets – all components of a just and sustainable model of development (p.149).”

“Localization is not a philosophy of isolationism, but of integrated decentralization in which strong local institutions from the base, with national and regional and international institutions – governmental as well as non-governmental – networking across the hemispheres, horizontally, as well as from local to global, vertically (p.160).”

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Dawkins, Kristin

Kristin Dawkins is senior fellow at the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis, USA. Prior to this she worked for sixteen years in community development and public policy research in Philadelphia, including nine years as the executive director of the Philadelphia Jobs in Energy Project.

Dawkins suggests a reform of global governance including more horizontal cooperation among local actors. “Global policies can be a stimulus for reform, but any global solution requires widespread local support… (p.106)”. She argues that there is a need for a “…peaceful, just, democratic, and sustainable reorganization of the global governance framework.. (pp.117-118)”, in order for it to become more democratic and sustainable.

Policies are needed for national governments in order to “…facilitate the development of strong communities with locally embedded social responsibilities and the capacity to share and care globally (161).”

Specifying the different levels of responsibility, national governments are still to be held both responsible and accountable to their citizens. On a regional level, associations will “serve as the transmission belts of information, planning, and policy making – within nations as well as across national boundaries”. Global institutions and decisions on the other hand, need to obtain their authority from an “effective system of communication amongst stakeholders (p.160).” Global decisions, such as corporate regulations on labor, safety, health and environment, could then be regulated on a regional level.

Dawkins does not support a globalized government, but instead emphasizes integrated decentralization with regional planning for global policies that are to be implemented on a local level. Another option would be to create a global parliament with elected regional representatives that would advise such institutions as the UN, WTO, IMF and World Bank.

For a more democratic global governance, suggestions from civil society propose reform of the already existing international institutions. As part of such reform, debates among civil society should be facilitated at community level across the world; existing institutions should be convinced to “self-correct within the existing framework”; democratic mechanisms of coherence should be designed “..between and amongst the institutions of society at every level.”; “…create new global mechanisms for creating, managing, and redistributing transnational wealth that are just and democratic, reaching local communities (pp.157-158).” Stakeholders at all levels should be held accountable to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as to other social and environmental treaties.

Reforms of business/trade

Dawkins criticizes the negative effects the business of large-scale corporations have when exploiting their markets globally. Corporate influence on politics is also criticized: “governments are led by an elite class with the resources to influence and dominate the political process (p.75).”

The Bretton Woods institutions have been criticized for causing more damage than development in less developed countries, and have developed into elite based organizations where the richer countries make decisions on behalf of poorer countries who find themselves giving up valuable national resources that in the end benefit the richer countries. The UN on the other hand lacks a strong enforcement mechanism and support from the most powerful country, the US, something that has prevented the UN from maximizing its efficiency.

More transparency is needed from the already existing institutions. National governments still need to be accountable and responsible to their citizens and there needs to be more of a networking across borders among local actors. Regional associations should be given more attention as providers of information and global institutions need to be more alert to information provided to them from the different stakeholders.

“Strong democratic institutions are needed at all levels to regulate corporations, protect public and human rights, eliminate poverty, and manage markets – all components of a just and sustainable model of development (p.149).”

Knowing that the general understanding is that poverty, inequality and violence tend to increase with deregulation of financial and trade markets Dawkins provides a thorough research on the structures of the Bretton Wood institutions and highlights that the reforms suggested already resemble the policies that were set out at these institutions creation.

In the case of the WTO, the Havana Charter 1948 for the establishment of the International Trade Organization had as its policy to support labor standards, defend “protectionism to promote economic development; limiting subsidies so as to fairly allocate world markets; managing supplies as well as prices through negotiated commodity agreements; and prohibiting monopolies or cartels, whether public or private (pp.121-122).” Acts that are suggested by many as reforms to these financial and trade institutions today. One thing that however was not included and which Dawkins brings up is the introduction of the Tobin tax on currency exchange, airfares, commodity grains, oil, and scarce minerals.

Poverty needs to be alleviated and development improved. Debt relief and new aid and loans are urgently needed. Democratic decision-making, suggested on a regional level, should be part of the distribution of such aid. The “..international community and leaders of the richer countries must take responsibility for stabilizing the global financial system and redirecting capital flows strategically to invest in equitable development throughout the world”

Dawkins also shows concerns with the privatization of public goods, such as air, water, sanitation systems, education, health, public parks, police and fire protection and pollution prevention, leading to the poorer not being able to access these. Rights to these public goods are stipulated in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights as well as Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as the labor rights established through the ILO and should be respected by all nations. “Public policies are needed to establish and enforce the provision of public services, and the protection of public goods, from the community level to the international level (p.141).”

“Localization is not a philosophy of isolationism, but of integrated decentralization in which strong local institutions from the base, with national and regional and international institutions – governmental as well as non-governmental – networking across the hemispheres, horizontally, as well as from local to global, vertically (p.160).”